The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed Adam Fantilli to a 6-year contract extension with a cap hit of $13.75 million.
The contract ends the stalemate for the RFA less than a week away from the start of the regular season schedule.
The new contract covers 4 RFA seasons and 2 UFA seasons.
Fantilli, 21, had 24 goals and 35 assists in 82 games for the Blue Jackets last season.
The Anaheim Ducks have placed Chris Kreider on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.
Kreider has 1 more season on his current contract carrying a cap-hit of $6.5 million and a salary of $4 million. It also has a $1 million signing bonus, which was likely paid in July.
Kreider would have agreed to this mutual termination of his contract.
The 35 year old winger had 22 goals and 28 assists in 75 games for the Ducks last season. He started 2025-26 hot, scoring 10 goals in his first 13 games but his production slowed as the season went on.
Because he was 35 at July 1, he will be eligible for a 1-year contract with performance bonuses that can be pushed to 2027-28.
The Vancouver Canucks have re-signed Zeev Buium to an 8-year contract extension with a cap hit of $9.38 million.
The new contract will start in 2027-28 as Buium still has 1 more season on his entry-level contract.
Buium, 20, was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Quinn Hughes from Vancouver to Minnesota. The defenseman had 6 goals and 20 assists in 76 games split between the Wild and Canucks last season.
The New Jersey Devils have acquired Luke Evangelista from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Colorado’s 2028 1st round pick and New Jersey’s 2028 2nd round pick.
The winger is signed through 2026-27 at a cap hit of $3 million. He’ll have 2 more RFA seasons after this year.
Evangelista, 24, had 12 goals and 44 assists in 81 games with the Predators last season.
The New York Rangers have signed Eeli Tolvanen to a 1-year contract worth $1.5 million.
Tolvanen, 27, had 12 goals and 24 assists in 78 games with the Kraken last season. He figures to be in the mix for middle-six minutes with the Rangers alongside other wingers in Gabe Perreault, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Will Cuylle and Tye Kartye.
The Colorado Avalanche have re-signed Cale Makar to an 8-year contract extension with a cap hit of $20.4 million.
Makar, 27, has 1 year remaining on his current contract with a cap hit of $9 million. He was eligible to be a UFA after the 2026-27 season.
Makar is now the league highest paid player by average annual salary, his $20.4 million eclipsing the mark Leo Carlsson’s offer sheet set earlier this summer. Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million has the high mark for the 2025-26 season.
Makar had 20 goals and 59 assists in 75 games with the Avalanche. He was the Norris trophy winner in 2021-22 and 2024-25.
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Leo Carlsson to an offer-sheet. The contract is for 5 seasons with a cap hit of $18 million.
The Ducks had previously let teams know they would match any offer-sheet and there is no reason to believe that they wouldn’t.
The compensation to the Ducks would be 4 1st round picks if they chose not to match.
Carlsson’s new 5-year deal, with whichever team, will cover 4 RFA years and 1 UFA year.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired Valeri Nichushkin from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2026 2nd round pick (43rd overall), a 2027 3rd round pick and a 2028 5th round pick.
The winger is signed through 2029-30 at a cap hit of $6.125 million.
Nichushkin, 31, had 17 goals and 32 assists in 72 games for the Avalanche last season.